Feb. 28, 2015
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AUBURN, Ala. - A sixth-inning three-run home run by junior Emily Carosone lifted the No. 16 Auburn Tiger softball team past SIUE Saturday night, winning 8-5, to remain undefeated in the Wilson/DeMarini Classic and move to 20-1 on the season.
Saturday's game was also the annual "Strikeout Cancer" game as the entire Auburn team wore pink jerseys to raise awareness of all types of cancer. Fans in attendance were able to enter to win the game-worn jerseys and donations were taken for the East Alabama Medical Center and the American Cancer Society. The Auburn family raised over $1,400 dollars in just one night.
The Tigers and Cougars were tied after five innings and were on the verge of possible extra innings, but Carosone put those ideas to rest finishing off her 2-for-3 night with the blast off the scoreboard in left-centerfield. It's Carosone's ninth multi-hit game of the season and first since going 3-for-3 against Georgia State (2/18).
Overall, Auburn's top three batters in the lineup each had two-hit days to make up six of the seven hits in the game. Along with Carosone, Tiffany Howard and Kasey Cooper each went 2-for-3 with Cooper hitting a first-inning home run, her seventh of the year.
"We like to score on offense," Auburn head coach Clint Myers said. "It is about what we are able to do offensively each and every inning. We answered back and played hard. We faced two pretty good pitchers and, again, this tournament has good teams in it. We got another tough game tomorrow, so the ability to answer and the ability to score is huge for us."
In the circle, junior Marcy Harper got the call to start, but struggled through the early innings, giving up three runs, but only one being earned. After giving up a one-out single and a double to open the game, Auburn allowed a pass ball, giving the Cougars the opportunity to score the game's first run. SIUE added a second on a ground out to take a 2-0 lead.
Harper settled down over the next three innings, but not before giving up a solo home run to Brittany Toney in the second inning. The junior went scoreless in the third and fourth, giving way to junior Lexi Davis, who walked away with the win.
Harper finished the game with five strikeouts, second-best this season, but the victory had to go to Davis, who came in with the game tied at five in the fifth inning. The Charlotte-native gave up two earned runs in her first inning of work, but went scoreless the rest of the way, getting some help from the Carosone home run in the bottom half of the sixth.
For Davis, she remains undefeated at 10-0 now, becoming Auburn's first 10-game winner this year and third player in the SEC to reach that plateau as well.
The Tigers found themselves behind in the early goings, a 2-0 deficit after just one half inning of play, but got one back in the bottom of the first with the Cooper home run. Cooper is currently tied for the team-lead in home runs with Carosone and Haley Fagan. The total is also good for second-most in the conference.
After SIUE added a third run in the top of the second, Auburn worked its way back in it with three runs in the bottom of the third to take a 4-3 lead.
The Tigers were able to load the bases and walk in a run and later got singles from Howard, Estell and Cooper to bring in the other two. The hit was Estell's only one of the game and the go-ahead RBI came in a big spot as well.
Auburn tried to pad its lead, getting a run in the bottom of the fourth after working around its base runners, but SIUE didn't lay down, getting the game-tying homer in the fifth.
The Tigers are back on the field on Sunday to try to win their eighth game in a row as they will face Samford at 2 p.m. at Jane B. Moore Field.
For more information on Auburn softball, visit AuburnTigers.com, follow the team on Twitter @Auburn_Softball or follow them on Facebook at Facebook.com/AuburnSoftball.